Late Bronze Age climate change and the destruction of the Mycenaean Palace of Nestor at Pylos.

Martin Finné,Hsun-Ming Hu,Chuan-Chou Shen,Meighan Boyd,Karin Holmgren,Sharon Stocker,John P Hart

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189447

Abstract

This paper offers new high-resolution oxygen and carbon isotope data from Stalagmite S1 from Mavri Trypa Cave, SW Peloponnese. Our data provide the climate background to the destruction of the nearby Mycenaean Palace of Nestor at Pylos at the transition from Late Helladic (LH) IIIB to LH IIIC, ~3150–3130 years before present (before AD 1950, hereafter yrs BP) and the subsequent period. S1 is dated by 24 U-Th dates with an averaged precision of ±26 yrs (2σ), providing one of the most robust paleoclimate records from the eastern Mediterranean for the end of the Late Bronze Age (LBA). The δ18O record shows generally wetter conditions at the time when the Palace of Nestor at Pylos was destroyed, but a brief period of drier conditions around 3200 yrs BP may have disrupted the Mycenaean agricultural system that at the time was likely operating close to its limit. Gradually developing aridity after 3150 yrs BP, i.e. subsequent to the destruction, probably reduced crop yields and helped to erode the basis for the reinstitution of a central authority and the Palace itself.

Highlights

The impact of past climate variability and abrupt climate change on ancient human societies is an ongoing debate
Results are reported relative to the Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB) standard
Based on the above discussion we suggest that the δ18O in the stalagmite from Mavri Trypa Cave should be interpreted as a signal for moisture, there may be an influence of kinetic fractionation, with more negative δ18O values indicating wetter conditions and vice versa

Summary

Introduction

The impact of past climate variability and abrupt climate change on ancient human societies is an ongoing debate. This debate often focuses around 1) certain time periods, commonly around so-called climate events, i.e. times when the climate rapidly changed, e.g. at 8200, 4200 and 3200 years before present (before AD 1950, hereafter yrs BP), and 2) archaeologically rich areas, such as SE Mexico (Yucatan Peninsula), the Indus Valley and the eastern Mediterranean [1,2,3,4,5,6]. In the eastern Mediterranean, there has been intense discussion about the impact of climate change on the fall of the Akkadian Empire and the end of the Late Bronze Age (LBA) occurring at ~4200 and ~3200 yrs BP respectively [7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18].

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Discussion

Conclusion